Take-off and conveyer mechanism for intermittent sheet glass forming machines



GENTEL TAKE-OFF AND CQNVEYER MECHANISM FOR INTERMITTENT SHEET CLASSFORMING MACHINES Filed Dec. 50. 1927 3 Sheets-$heet INVENTOR. 95?

ATTORNEY.

TAKP-OFF AND CONVEYL MECHANISM FOR INTERMITTENT SHEET GLASS FORMINGMACHINES 1 Filed Dec. 50. 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY.

INVENTOR.

5 $heets-Sheet E. GEEJTZL TAKE-OFF AND CONVEYER MECHANISM FGRINTERMITTEIJT SHEET GLASS FORMING MACHINES Filed D60.

Nmv.

Federated Nov, 2, 1932 PATENT OFFICE EUGENE GENTIL, OF PARIS, FRANCE,ASSIGNOR 1'0 THE AMERICAN BICHEROUX I COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF DELAWAREEAKE-OFI? AND CONVEYER MECHANISM FOR INTERMITTEN'I. SHEET GLASS FORMING-MACHINES Application filed December 30, 1927. Serial No. 243,655.

Sheet glass conveyors, comprising a series of driven rolls, have beenused for many years to receive sheet glass from continuous sheet formingmachines, and to convey the 5 sheet through the lehrs. As the speed ofsheet formation in the continuous machines is not high, this use ofroller conveyors, which have approximatel the same speed of travel asthe speed of sleet formation, has been m satisfactory. Dificulties'arise, however, if intermittent sheet forming machines are used. Theselatter machines have high speed of sheet formation and, as a result, theconveyers, if they have the speed of sheet formation, must be lengthy ifthe glass is to remain on them for the period generally required forcooling, and for annealing if the conveyers are to feed through thelehrs, This difficulty also exists in roll conveyers taking- 29 OHplates from metal plate forming machines which are also intermittent intheir action, and to meet it with such machines the suggestion has beenmade to divide the rolls of the conveyer into two sections, the rolls ofone section (which receives the plate from the forming machine) beingdriven at a peripheral speed the same as that of the sheet formation,and the rolls of the other section (which receives the plate from therolls of the first section and on which the cooling takes place) beingdriven at a lower rate of speed, so that the distance traveled by thesheets during a certain cooling time will be. less than if the sheetstraveled uniformly at the speed of sheet formation. With such anarrangement the periods between the formation of successive sheets ismade such as to prevent crowding of the sheets on each other whendelivered to the slow-speed section. In

such an arrangement, however, each plate will be subjected to drive atits rear end by high-speed rolls while its forward end is being takenaway by a slow-speed roll. This in thin glass may result in a bucklingof the 5 glass. Various schemes have been proposed to avoid thisdifierence in drive on the 'two ends of the glass sheets when the plateis shifted from one speed to the other, such schemes generally embodyingidlers, or cer- 5 tain rolls whose speed may be varied to receive thesheet at one speed and after the sheet rests thereon to send it forwardat a lower speed. I propose, however, to avoid the buckling, not by theuse of idlers or variable speed rolls, but by providing a mechanism forsimultaneously delivering the sheet of glass throughout its length fromthe highspeed rolls to the low-speed rolls, and this if accomplish,preferably by lowering the highspeed rolls on which the sheet may besupported through spaces between low-speed rolls,which then receive anddrive the sheet, the feed efiected by the low-speed rolls being eitherin the line of feed of the high-speed rolls or at an angle thereto asmay be desired. It is obvious that either all, any, or none of thehigh-speed rolls or the low-speed rolls may be enclosed in a suitablefurnace structure by which the glass may be annealed,

My invention further consists in the con struction, arrangement andcombination of certain parts by which the results above noticed may beaccomplished Referring to the accompanying drawings in whichcorresponding parts are designated by corresponding marks of reference,

Figure l is a diagrammatic sectional view of a conveyer-embodying myinvention and adapted to receive sheets from an intermittent sheetforming machine to convey the same through a lehr, the line of feed ofthe high and low speed sections being in line with each other. 7

Figure 2 is a plan view thereof.

Figure 3 illustrates another form of my invention in which the highspeed section of the conveyer receiving the sheets from the formingmachine has its line of feed at right angles to the feed of the lowspeed section, the high speed section being shown as entirely outside ofthe lehr.

Figure at is a vertical section on line H of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is'a View of a structure embodying a feature of my invention inwhich the conveyer embodies a high speed section taking off from theforming machine and a variable speed section, both shown as locatedexternally of the lehr, a lehr conveying section, and mechanism similarto that shown in till the formation of successive sheets Figures 3 and lfor transferring sheets from the variable speed'section onto the lehrsection,

Tn the drawings l and represent the forming rolls of a suitableintermittent sheet forming mechanism, which forms and delivers thesheets at a relatively high rate speed with periods of intermissionbetween The sheets are delivered as formed to a roller table conveyer.

Tn Figures 1 and 2, the conveyer has a series of rolls 3, driven byintermeshing bevel gears a through the shaft 5 and intermediate pinion 6from the motor 7 at the same peripheral speed as the speed of sheetformation, these rolls being at the entrance or receiving end of theroller conveyer. Tmmediately following and in'line with the rolls of theseries 3 are the series of rolls 8 mounted in a rising and falling frame9 and driven through the intermeshing bevel gears 10 and. shaft 11 bythe motor 7,, To permit the up and down movement of the frame withoutinterrupting the drive of the rollers 8 the connection between the motor7 and shaft ll may be made by the shaft 12 and universal joints 13, thegearing being such that the rolls 3 and 8 are driven with the sameperipheral speed.

A third series of rollers l l are also present in the conveyer, theinitial rolls of this series being interposed between the rolls 8 of thesecond series, their upper peripheries being, when the rolls 8 are intheir upper position, below the level of the upper peripheries of thelatter, The rolls l lare driven by the bevel gears 15 from a shaft 16 ata desired peripheral speed less than that of the peripheral speed of therolls 3 and 8 and of the speed of sheet formation.

Tn the operation of the device as thus dis closed a sheet of glassformed by the forming rolls 1 and 2 is delivered to the rolls 3 and bythose rolls is carried ed as rapidly as formed, and is finally deliveredto the rolls 8. When the entire length of the sheet is on the rolls 8these rolls may be lowered, transferring the support of the sheet to therolls l4; interposed between them, the transfer of the sheet from rolls8 to rolls it being simultaneously throughout the length of the sheet.The sheet will now be fed forward not by the rolls 8, but by the rolls14: and as the transfer is simultaneous throughout the length of thesheet it will be seen that the sheet will not be subjected to unequaldriving strains on its front-and rear ends, tending to buckle it,

The lowering of the frame in which the roll 8 is carried may he madeautomatic by suitable counter-balancing the frame in which the rolls 8are carried as by the weight 19, so that the weight of the sheet efiectsthe transfer, or it may be made automatic by neeaoee providing a triggermechanism (indicated. diagrammatically at 1'?) which when struck:

by the forward end of a sheet entirely resting on the rolls will causethe lowering of the frame 9, q

lit is obvious that any, all or none of the rolls 8, 8 and 1% may beenclosed in a suitable lehr structure which, however, is indicateddiagrammatically at l8 as enclosing all of the said rolls.

Tn the construction shown in Figures 8 and 4.- the ccnveyer bed is intwo sections, namely, high speed section and a low speed section, whoselines of feed are at right angles to each other. In these figures thehigh-speed rolls 3 and 8 of the high speed section are driven by bevelgears 43 from ashaft 5 Tnterposed between the terminal rolls 8 are aseries of rolls 2O whose axis of rotation is at right angles to the axisof rotation of the rolls 3. The rolls E20 normally have their upperperipheries slightly below the level of the upper periphery of the roll8". The rolls 8 are carried (andthe rollers 3 may be carried) in asuitable rising and falling frame 9. To effect this the frame 9 may bepivoted on a horizontal pivot at 19 adjacent to the forming machine, sothat the rolls 8 will be lowered by lowering the frame 9 on its pivot.By preference a plurality of rolls 8* are arranged staggered betweeneach pair of the rollers 3. The rolls 20 are driven by bevel gears 21.

The low speed section of the conveyer is placed opposite the rolls 20and the axes of the low-speed rolls 14f mounted thereon are parallelwith the axis of the rolls 20, the drive shaft 16 of the low-speed rollsalso driving the gears 21 of the rolls 20*, the rolls 20 and the rolls li being preferably driven at the same peripheral speed. By preferencethe low speed roller 14 may be enclosed in a lehr 18, but the lehr mayalso enclose any or all of the rolls 3, and 8.

With such a construction it will be seen 3 that the glass sheetdelivered by the forming machine is conveyed by the rolls 3 to the rolls8, and that upon the descent of the frame 9, effected manually orautomatically in either of the ways before su gested, the support of thesheet will be trans erred to the rolls 20*, which will feed the sheetlaterally onto the rolls in which as stated, may be enclosed with asuitable lehr structure. This in itself is desirable in that it providesa feed through the lehr in the direction of the width of the sheetthereby permitting a greater number of sheets to be handled in the samelength of lehr at the same speed of movement. a

Figure 5 diagrammatically represents a structure embodying the lateraltransfer of the sheet shown in Figures 3 and a. It however embodies theslowing of the sheet movement not by the action of such lateraltransincense fer, but on straight run oil the first section of theconveyor table. Tn this figure the rolls 8 are driven at the speed oilsheet formation, The rolls 8 are variable speed rolls, that is to saymay be driven at the same speed as the rolls 3* or at a lower speed,which however need not be the speed or *he teed throughout the lehr, 1 I

The rolls 8 'are mounted in a rising and falling frame as are the rolls8* of Figures 3 and a, have interposed between them the non-rising andfalling transverse rolls 20", similar to the rolls 20 ot Figure 3, andlike those rolls driven at the same peripheral speed as the rolls it oi?the transverse conveyer, which may be enclosed in a lehr 18".

The device shown in Figure 5 permits the sheet to be received from thetorming ma chine at its speed of formation, and permits the speed ofthat sheet to be reduced prior to its location in trout oi the lehr, asis often desirable, and this without an excessive length of the conveyoroutside of the lehr, whereas if all of the rollers 3 and 8" were drivenat the speed of sheet formation this might require an excessive lengthof the conveyer section outside of the lehr However, with theconstruction shown, as soon as the sheet is received on the rolls 8 thelatter may be slowed down, the limitation on the slowingv being thetendency of the glass to sag between the rollers due to the passage ofpoints thereon over the successive rollers. The speed necessary toprevent this however is much less than the speed of sheet formation. Ttis obvious that with the construction shown there may be a stepping downof the speed between the rolls 3 and 8 and a second stepping down of thespeed between the rollers 8 and 14*, the speed of the last named rollerbeing that proper for lehring while the speed of the rollers 8 isselected with the point of view of preventing the sagging in questionwhile permitting the shortening up of the conveyer section outside ofthe lehr.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is 1. A conveyor table for sheet glass having twosections arranged at right angles with each other and each comprising aseries of driven rolls adapted to receive a hot sheet, a series ofdriven rollers interposed between certain rollers of one of the sectionsand hav= ing their axis of rotation parallel with the axis of rotationof the rolls of the other section and having their periphery slightly below the periphery of the rollers of the first section, with means forcausing relatively vertical movement between rollers of the firstsection and the interposed rolls to transfer the support ofthe hot sheetfrom the rolls of the first section to the interposed rolls.

2. The combination with an intermittent sheet forming machine havinghigh. speed of sheet formation, of a conveyer receiving hot sheetstherefrom having two sections er ranged at right angles with each other,and each comprising a series of driven rollers to receive the glass, aseries otdriven rollers interposed between certain rollers of one of thesections and having their axis of rotation parallel with the axis ofrotation of the rolls of the other section and having their peripheryslightly below the periphery of the rollers of the first section, meansfor cans-- ing relatively vertical movement between rollers of the firstsection and the interposed rolls to transfer the support of the hotsheet from the rolls of the first section to the in terposed rolls andmeans for driving the rolls of the hrst section at approximately thespeed of sheet formation, and for driving the in wrposed rolls and therolls of the second section at a lower rate of speed.

3" The combination with an intermittent sheet forming machine havinghigh speed of sheet formation, of a conveyor receiving hot sheetstherefrom and comprising a series of rolls driven at approximately thesame peripheral speed as thespeed of sheet formation, a second series ofrolls in line therewith, means for driving the same at variable speed, athird series of rolls located at right angles to the'variable speedrolls, a series of rolls interposed between certain rolls of the secondseries and rotated at right angles there to, means for changing therelative vertical elevation of the last named series of rolls and thevariable speed rolls of the second series, and a lehr enclosing therollers ot the third series.

Tn testimony whereof l hereunto atdx my signature.

EUGENE GENTTL,

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